Self-opening concealed hinge



May 3l, 1955 J. P. STEIN 2,709,276

SELF-OPENING coNcEALED HINGE Filed Feb. 2, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l 1 @mug IN VE NTOR ATTORNEY May 3l, 1955 J. P. STEIN SELF-OPENING CONCEALED HINGE Filed Feb. 2, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY SELF-PENlNG CONCEALED HINGE Joseph Pierce Stein, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application February 2, 1953, Serial No. 334,502

2 Claims. (Cl. 16-164) The invention relates to concealed wall safes, and more particularly to a self-opening concealed hinge for such safes.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 131,196, led December 5,

1949, now Patent No. 2,633,010, dated March 3l, 1953.

In common with the aforesaid application one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved spring-pressed or spring-loaded concealed door opening device in connection with one or more concealed hinges of the safe door, which spring-pressed device in connection with the remotely controlled latch releasing mechanism disclosed in said application will cause the door to swing outwardly to open position at the will of the operator, who may be in a position remote from the safe itself. The entire disclosure of the aforesaid application is hereby incorporated by reference as part of the disclosure of the present case.

The invention further relates to a spring-pressed plunger type hinge for use in connection with a concealed latch and a concealed wall safe, and comprises a spring unit which is fashioned from a metal tubing into a sleeve or chamber wherein a plunger with a spring coil of the correct'tension is suitably housed, the plunger being attachedto a guide in a hinge butt where a groove or channel provides slidable space for movement during the operation of opening and closing the door of a concealed wall safe.

A further object is to provide a spring-pressed plunger hinge of the class described designed to instantaneously swing a door outward when released from a closing position by a remote controlled latch.

A further object is to provide a spring-pressed plunger attached to a concealed hinge employing a plurality of links having a pin or an axle slidably engaging a butt member in which an end portion of a plunger with an eyelet is mounted therein to provide glidability when a door from a concealed wall safe is released from a closing position.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved spring-pressed plunger hinge having an axle within the inner wall of a channel housing engaging a plurality of links movable inwardly and outwardly when released by a remote controlled spring-pressed latch.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a horizontal sectional view of the concealed safe equipped with a remotely controlled latch, and with the concealed hinges and spring-loaded door opening devices of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail horizontal section through part of the wall and a portion of the door showing one of the concealed spring-actuated hinges with which the door is equipped, the door being shown open;

Fig. 3 is a similar view with the door shut;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4 4 of Fig. 3 g

2,709,276 Patented May 31, 1955 Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the hinge unit showing a portion of the spring-pressed plunger link;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 6-6 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of Fig. 4.

Referring in detail to the drawings, wherein so far as possible the same reference characters are employed for the same or similar parts as in my Patent No. 2,633,010, reference character B denotes generally the concealed Wall safe of said application which comprises side walls 10, 11, a rear wall i2, top and bottom walls (not shown) and an outwardly swinging door portion l5 hinged to the side wall 10 by means of spring-actuated concealed hinges generally designated 25, which will be described in detail hereinafter. In accordance with my invention the hinges are provided with spring-pressed plunger means generally designated 26 secured to one swinging portion of the hinge and concealed in the door 15. The function of the spring-pressed plunger is to cause the door to instantaneously swing to open position on release of the door catch 28 which may be of the remote control type disclosed in my aforesaid Patent No. 2,633,010 actuated by control means 27 concealed in the side wall 11.

As shown, the spring-pressed plunger means 26 which is-incorporated within the door 15 comprises a cylindrical casing 30 housing a solid plunger 32 snugly fitting the interior of the casing and provided with a connecting rod 34 extending through one end 36 of the casing 3i) and having a reduced end portion 38 for attachment to a movable part of the hinge 25. The end of the casing 30 opposite the end 36 is closed by a threaded plug 40 which may be adjusted as desired to vary the tension of the spring 42 interposed between the plunger 32 and the plug 40. A slot for engagement by a screw driver may be provided on the outer end of the plug to permit turning the same and adjusting the spring tension. The closed end of the casing 30 engages a iixed abutment 41 carried by the door.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4 it will be noted that the wall 10 and door 15 are recessed as indicated at 44 and 46 to receive the fixed and movable butts 48 and 50, respectively, of the concealed hinge 25. The hinge member may be of the same general type as the hinge disclosed in Figs. 1 to 4 of Soss Patent No. 2,040,279, and the xed butt 48 may be substantially identical with the butt 7 disclosed in the aforesaid patent. In acordance with the present invention, however, the reduced portion 38 of the plunger link 34 fits between a pair of links of the movable butt, which in the Soss patent are designated 15a, and are pivotally secured to such links by means of a pin which corresponds to the pin 17 of the Soss patent, the ends of which are slidable in grooves 12a in the said patent. In the Soss patent a rib is shown between a pair of grooves 13a, which rib in accordance with the present disclosure is omitted in the movable butt member to allow the link 34 to freely slide in the space between the two side walls of the groove formed in the elliptical body portion of the movable butt member. Reference may be had to the Soss patent for a detailed description of the concealed hinge but in the interest of completeness a brief description thereof will be included in the present application, with the understanding that the two butt members of the hinge and the associated parts may be of similar construction except for the variations pointed out above and further emphasized hereinafter.

As shown, each butt 48 and 50 consists of an elliptical body portion 52, 53 having at the outer surface thereof laterally extending apertured flanges 54, 55 for mounting the butts in connection with the respective supports 10, 15. The butts 48 and 50 are provided with channels 56, 57, respectively, opening through one side thereof, and

rj the upper and lower walls of said channels'56 and 57 are provided with longitudinal grooves 58 and 59. The rear wall of the channel 56 is provided with spaced grooves 60, 61, separated by a rib 62, which rib is omitted in the movable butt member 50, providing a single groove 63 in which the plunger link 34 is slidable.

The butts 48 and 5@ are coupled together for hinge movement in the construction shown, by two pairs of similar links 64 and 65, respectively, the reduced end portion 38 of the plunger link 34 being secured between the pair of links 65. Each pair of links 64 and 65 is preferably composed of two sheet metal plates arranged one directly upon the other, and if desired may be riveted, Welded or otherwise secured together. The purpose of this construction is to simplify the manufacture of the links and to provide relatively thick links which, by virtue of the laminated construction, may be readily stamped from sheet metal.

The structure of each link 64% and 65 may be identical and accordingly a brief description of one will apply to the other. One end portion 66 of each link is pivoted to each butt 4S, 5G, being mounted on pintle pins 67 which are fixed in the respective butts, the other end portions 68 of the links 64 and 65 being provided with pintle pins 69, 70 which extend therethrough and the end portions of which project into and operate in the upper and lower grooves 53, 59 of said butts. ln accordance with the present disclosure only the pin 69 connecting links 64 bears upon the top surface 71 of the rib 62 intermediate the spaced grooves 60 and 61 as in the aforesaid Soss patent, whereas the pin 70 of the connecting link 65 of the movable butt member 5|) in addition to serving as a guide by reason of the engagement of its ends in grooves 58 and 59 also passes through an opening in the reduced end 38 of the plunger link and provides a pivotal connecting means between said link and the spring-pressed plunger to which it is connected on the one end and the movable butt member 50 on the other. A bearing contact such as is provided between the pin 69 of the xed butt member 48 and the top of the rib 32 is found unnecessary in connection with the movable butt member 50 by reason `of the fact that the link 34 snugly and slidably fits within the single groove 63.

The central portions 75 of the links 64 and 65 are offset with respect to the end portions 66 and 68 and are disposed one directly upon the other and coupled together by pintle pin 76. The end portions 68 terminate in the projecting cams '77 which in the case of the link 64 at all times slidably engage the spaced grooves 60, 61 of the fixed butt 48, Whereas the cams 77 of the link 65 engage the walls of the side groove 63. When the butts are in a partially closed position the cams 77 of link 64 begin to engage the inner walls of the grooves 68, 61, and especially when the hinge is in fully closed position as is indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, thus operating to force the pintle 69 of the link 64 into firm engagement with the walls of the grooves 58 and 59, thereby securely retaining the links against movement relatively to the butts laterally as well as vertically when the butts are in closed position to prevent or eliminate rattling.

in the case of the movable butt member 50 both the cams 77 of the links 65 slide upon the inner face of the single groove 63 and rattling is prevented by reason of the novel mounting of the link 36 coupled with the particular construction and arrangement of parts as heretofore described in relation to fixed butt member 48.

The invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration but it will be obvious that numerous modifications and variations in detail may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A self-opening concealed spring hinge for use with a conceaied wail safe or the like having a fixed wall portion, and a door portion swingable with reference to the fixed wall but adapted to be latched in closed position, said walt and door portions each having a recess formed therein; said hinge comprising a pair of butt members adapted to be mounted in the recesses formed in the wall and door portions respectively, a two-part link unit hingedly coupling the butt members together, andspring pressed plunger means adapted to be mounted within the door recess to urge the door to open position, said link unit comprising two pairs of spaced links pivotally connected together, one pair of the links being hingedly mounted on a fixed pivot in one butt member and the other pair being hingedly mounted on a fixed pivot in the other butt member, and means connecting to said plunger means the free ends of the links whose other ends are pivoted on the butt member associated with said wall portion, each said butt member having a guide groove for the free ends of its respective links, the link guide groove in the butt associated with the door member serving also as a guide groove for the means connecting the said links to said spring-pressed plunger means; the butt associated with the wall portion having a central rib in its guide groove for engagement by the free ends of its spaced link members and the groove in the butt member associated with the door portion having the rib omitted, the plunger connecting means being connected between the free ends of the spaced links guided by the butt member associated with the door portion.

2. A spring hinge as set forth in claim 1, wherein the plunger connecting means includes a link portion whose end fits the guide groove in the door attached butt member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 882,721 Soss Mar. 24, l908 2,040,279 Soss s May l2, i936 2,180,552 Schroeder et al. Nov. 21, 1939 2,581,892 White Jan. 8, 1952 

